Renaud de Courtenay
Renaud de Courtenay (died 27 September 1194) (Anglicised to "Reginald"), of Sutton, Berkshire, was a French nobleman of the House of Courtenay who came over to England and founded of the English Courtenay family which became Earls of Devon in 1335, which title is still held today by his direct male descendant.
Origins
He was the son of Miles (Milo) de Courtenay, Seigneur (lord of the manor) of Courtenay, in the Kingdom of France, today in the Loiret department in north-central France, by his wife Ermengard de Nevers.
Career
He succeeded his father as Seigneur of Courtenay. He fought in the Second Crusade, with King Louis VII of France. He quarrelled with King Louis VII, who seized Renaud's French possessions and gave them along with Renaud's daughter Elizabeth to his youngest brother, Pierre (Peter) of France, who thenceforth became known as Peter I of Courtenay (died 1183)). He was created Lord of Sutton in 1161. In 1172 he accompanied King Henry II in the Irish Expedition to County Wexford.[1]
Marriages
Renaud married twice:
- (1) Helvis (Elizabeth) du Donjon, daughter of Frederick du Donjon and Corbeil, sister of Guy du Donjon (alternatively given as Hawise de Curci (d.1219) heiress of the feudal barony of Okehampton in Devon [2] ).
- (2) Maud FitzEdith, daughter of Robert FitzEdith, Lord Okehampton (d.1172) (illegitimate son of Henry I, King of England by Edith FitzForne).
Progeny
By his first marriage he had a daughter Elizabeth who was given in marriage by the French King Louis VII (d.1180) to his youngest brother Peter of France, who thenceforth became known as Peter I of Courtenay (d.1183).[3]
He also had a son, Robert de Courtenay, who was the great-grandfather of Hugh de Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (d.1340).
References
- ↑ Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 1122.
- ↑ Sanders, I.J., English Baronies, Oxford, 1960, pp.69-70, Okehampton
- ↑ Jirí Louda and Michael MacLagan, Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe, 2nd edition (London, U.K.: Little, Brown and Company, 1999), table 64.
- Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis, Lines: 107-25-138-25.